The Fall
by WriterEl
Summary: A mission goes south quickly as Mac and Jack pursue the most dangerous of arms dealers across the streets of St. Paul. Can MacGyver recover from a simple miscalculation?
1. Chapter 1

Hi Everyone- Apologies for disappearing. I got wrapped up in school and travel, which prevented me from taking time off for writing. I have not forgotten about Under the Cover of Ice, but I figured writing a slightly shorter fic to get back into the swing of things would be best. Many thanks to everyone out there who continue to write! Reading y'all's fanfiction keeps me sane during stressful tests and such. I'll try to finish up lingering stories as well as brainstorm up a few new ones as I can over the summer.

Cheers- WriterEl

* * *

 **The Fall**

* * *

:: Mac and Jack::

Of course they'd run. They always did.

Macgyver threw up his hands in exasperation as he glared at his partner on the other side of the convenience store aisle.

With eyes wide, the ex-Delta responded with a look of surprised indignation, "What!? I told'em to get on the ground!"

"Timing Jack, TIMING!"

Mac lunged forward, picked up a bright can of what looked to be Chef Boyardee Ravioli, and hurled it towards the nearest of the two escaping Armenians before turning back to chastise his partner.

"It helps if you wait until we've actually surrounded them man! You never wait for me to…"

A commotion stopped the young agent mid-sentence as both he and his partner turned and stared open mouthed towards the checkout counter. Mac's can had hit its mark and the burlier of the two arms dealers went down like a sack of potatoes along with the contents of a nearby magazine stand.

After another moment of stunned silence, Jack let out a long whistle and broke out into a huge grin, "Did you just apprehend a suspect with a can of pasta?"

Mac stood there eyebrows raised. He quickly recovered from his surprise and shot back with a scowl, "I didn't expect that to work," as he turned and jogged towards aisle two.

Jack shrugged as he watched his partner presumably go find something to secure the hostile. As he waited, he slowly sauntered up to the 'sack of potatoes' and stood looking down at the guy. He was clearly going to be out cold for a long time.

As Mac rounded the corner back towards the counter with a fist full of zipties, the older man couldn't help but rib his partner a bit, "Damn son, you should'a told me your spirit animal was Nolan Ryan. Where was this when we got our asses handed to us on the diamond last month by those CIA weenies?"

Mac rolled his eyes as he knelt and began securing the ankles and wrists of the unconscious man. As he cinched the last tie, Mac looked up surprised that his partner was still standing there grinning like a fool at him.

"And you hog tie like a champ. We're gonna get you signed up for some tie-down ropin' during our Texas vacation this weekend. You are a young man of many talents."

Highly annoyed at Jack's inability to stay focused on what was literally their last mission before they went on a well deserved extended leave, Mac suggested with a little more sarcasm than he intended, "Jack! The OTHER guy….Yes!?"

Jack's face immediately fell into a tight lipped pout, "Yeah Yeah Yeah…..Son you have got to learn to take a compliment. By the way, you are gonna thank me for all the fun I've got set up for us at the ranch. I think you'll fit right into the cowboy life bud. Two weeks of solid paid vacation..."

"Jack!"

The Texan raised his hands in defeat, "Alright...Alright."

Jack adjusted the earpiece that connected both he and Mac to their lifeline sitting 2,000 miles away in front of a laptop back at Phoenix's War Room.

"Ri, you got sights on rabbit number two?"

A slight crackle preceded the haggard sounding voice of the hacker Riley Davis whose job was to monitor their every move. Preferably without losing her mind in the process. The team had been running 110% for over 4 weeks now and everyone was starting to feel tired and worn down. Good natured humor had hit the highway a good week ago for everyone except Jack, who continued to practice his witticisms regardless of how it seemed to grate like sand paper across the rest of the team's nerves.

"I'm sorry Jack, were you saying something about the actual mission. I couldn't really tell through the incessant stream of words you routinely barf out describing totally unrelated personal anecdotes and observations."

Jack shook his head and gave Mac a hard stare over the rims of his aviators, "Looks like pretty much everyone took a swim in the deep end of the sassy pool this morning huh? Ri honey, just tell me if Mac's magic ubberviolet mist worked or not."

Mac could literally feel Riley's eye roll through the headset.

"The answer is yes Jack. The ultraviolet paint bomb Mac rigged up to mark our dealers back at the drop zone worked like a charm. I have the second suspect lighting up like Christmas on our satellite tracking system. The guy obviously doesn't realize what the goop is that he's covered in. It looks like he is headed southwest on 5th street and….good news for you ol' man…..he's running pretty damn slow."

"A stroke of redeeming luck for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid here isn't it?"

Both Mac and Jack looked at each other with eyes wider than two deer caught in headlights.

Matty, who was supposed to be in an 8 hour long meeting with the Secretary of Defense, suddenly materialized out of nowhere on the com set. Even Riley let out a startled gasp.

"You two better get your heads in the game and asses in gear before I revoke your time off and put you on staple removing duty down in the basement with Carl instead. This team is NOT on vacation yet."

The big scary boss was back much earlier than expected. In his panicked state to act cool and normal, Jack reflexively tried to start up a light conversation with "Hey Matty. Whose Carl?"

Eyes still as big as saucers, Mac looked at his partner as if he had grown tentacles. In horror, Mac repeatedly made the universal horizontal sweeping gesture across his neck meaning 'Stop You Idiot'.

Matty's voice was low and soft, which made it even more intimidating, 'My point exactly Dalton."

Jack threw up his palms at Mac in silent anxiety and started throwing out chaotic hand signals of his own leaving each agent pantomiming unintelligible commands to one another in some farcical silent screaming match.

In a voice of pure resignation Riley spoke up, "Hey guys...uh...yeah...Matty is actually here in the War room with me. You are definitely on screen."

The ensuing silence was finally broken as Matty said matter of factly, "Well if anything, it was worth coming back to the office early just to watch you two guinea fowls dance."

The violent hand signalling stopped immediately. Mac pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly shook his head. Jack raised his eyes up to the heavens in silent prayer. They were screwed. This was shaping up to be a less than stellar execution of a mission even for Jack's standards. Matty was certainly going to attain whole new levels of pissed once she was debriefed with the full story of all the mishaps they had accrued during this operation.

Jack put on his silkiest timbre, "Well hey Matty...good to hear you're back at the ol' helm. We missed ya. How did your meeting go?"

"Shut it Jack. Jill kept me informed of the mission's progress, or lack thereof. The Secretary was quite understanding of my sudden departure after I let him know I had agents loose on the streets of Minnesota with no supervision. In fact he was insistent I leave ASAP after hearing the words Macgyver and Dalton used in the same sentence. Apparently you guys make a lasting impression. Some would say of the traumatic variety. Now, can we please get back to cleaning up the mess you two have managed to track across all of St. Paul?"

All three agents including Riley mumbled a sheepish, 'Yes Ma'am."

That was the unacknowledged secret phrase that the team clearly understood as meaning 'Let's get down to business.

Mac stood up next to his partner and cleared his throat. 'So Riley, are there some routes Jack and I can take to get another crack at flanking this second suspect?"

"He appears to be headed towards the Wabasha Street bridge. If Jack can flush him south on any of the side streets, Mac can cut him off on Kellogg Boulevard. Just turn left on Robert and right on Kellogg."

Jack, now a model of professionalism, gave Mac a curt nod and cut a quick path through the store's front sliding glass doors out onto 5th.

Mac turned back to the unconscious arms dealer at his feet and tilted his head forward to get a clear look at his face.

"Request a pickup of the first target, neutralized, at the corner of Sibley and 5th. Jack's in direct pursuit of second target on 5th. Riley, you have an ID on this guy?"

"Yeah Mac, surveillance camera behind the counter has a clear line of site. Let me run the image through facial recognition and I'll have an answer on which Armenian Arms Lord we are dealing with here in a second."

"Copy, I'll start working my way along Kellogg."

With that, Mac was sprinting out the back door into the alleyway attempting to set a pace that he thought would mirror his partner's 2 blocks away.

* * *

::Mac::

Slightly breathless as he turned onto Kellogg, Mac reached out to the older agent through coms, "Jack, sitrep."

After a few huffs on the other end, Jack replied, "I just caught up to our guy on Wabasha. Looks like he finally discovered his inner road runner. He is definitely hauling ass towards the bridge."

Despite how tired he was from the last few weeks of fighting, running, jumping onto moving vehicles, etc. Mac let the adrenaline push his legs at double time. Jack and his quarry had covered way more ground than he'd expected. It was going to be close, but if his calculations were correct, he was pretty sure he could intersect the second target's trajectory before he and Jack made it onto the bridge.

Suddenly Matty's voice broke in with an unsettling edge of urgency to it.

"Hey guys, be advised. Riley got a hit on the facial recognition software. The suspect you apprehended back at the convenience store was positively ID'd as Hyak Petrossian, the son of Moscow's kingpin for the Armenian Akhperutyun. Intel has good reason to believe that the second guy is more than likely Alex Temar, the go-to hit-man for this particular arms dealing clan. He has a reputation of completing jobs up close and personal, so stay in pursuit, but do not engage. I repeat do not engage. I can pull the transport agents from the airport just southeast of you to set up as a fence. We'll pen him in."

Jack broke in, clearly moving at a dead run, "Matty, we got this." ::Huff Huff Huff:: "We're you're A-team remember?"

Matty's voice softened just a fraction, "Not the time to fish around for an ego stroke Jack. Seriously, Mac-Jack, the dossier I have on this guy reads like a horror film. He is extremely dangerous and I've run you both a little too hard over the last few assignments. Just keep driving Temar south and let the fence take him down. That is an order."

"Damn" Mac barked out breathlessly. He had almost made it to the end of Kellogg when he saw Temar streak across the intersection followed by a cacophony of blaring car horns. A few seconds later Jack appeared, leaping across the hood of an inconveniently stopped car, which only slowed him down for a fraction of a second. Long enough, though, for him to at least take notice of Mac running at a full tilt towards the intersection at his nine o'clock.

Mac's lungs were on fire and he physically couldn't run any faster. He mentally kicked himself for miscalculating everyone's speed.

"Jack, I'm falling in at your six about 80 yards back buddy."

"Copy that. I've got the suspect about 30 yards ahead of me.' ::Huff huff huff:: What is this guy, part antelope?"

Just before Jack entered the bridge corridor, Mac sensed the pace of the chase in front of him begin to slow.

"Jack? What's going on up there?"

"I don't know man, maybe this persistent ol' coyote here finally wore him out. He might be getting desperate. Mac, maybe try to clear out some of these civillians along the footpath in case he decides to engage with a firearm. I have two clips, but not a lot of cover, so I'll need…..."

Suddenly there was a muffled 'umph' over Mac's earpiece.

"Jack?"

There was no response.

"Jack. Sitrep."

Again, no response. Mac could hear the blood pounding in his ears as he began to run so fast it felt like he was falling headlong forward only to have is feet catch him at the last second to propel him into yet another headlong fall. Again and again. Something was wrong, he could feel it as he raced onto the bridge after his partner.

"JACK!"

* * *

To Be Continued...

Critiques are very welcome. If banter seems off character, etc etc let me know and I'll try to get more into my head space to come up with better character lines.


	2. Chapter 2

::Mac::

Mac's chest was so tight from running and likely a bit of panic that he didn't think he could mouth-out a complete sentence. Despite this, he tried his best to keep the War Room informed of his status.

"Matty, I lost visual after Jack crested the top of the overpass. Riley…::catching of breath:: do you have him?"

"There aren't any cams on the bridge Mac, I'm trying to switch to DOD's satellite network."

Mac continued his sprint forward when suddenly his heart seized at the sound of a women's scream some distance ahead.

As the young agent finally approached the lee side of the bridge, he could see a ripple of pedestrians begin to scatter away from a point along the footpath. The source of the disturbance was a tall man in a long dark peacoat standing over the supine form of a clearly injured second individual. As Mac continued to draw closer, he recognized the form on the pavement to be none other than Jack.

"Jesus, Matty. Jack's down!"

His earpiece cracked as Matty's voice came through, "Mac, what the hell happened? The fence has a visual on Temar currently coming off Wabasha onto Harriet. Why is Jack down?"

Mac's mind was spinning both from a lack of oxygen as well as shock as he continued to run straight towards his partner's position.

"Matty, this whole thing is wrong. Something is wrong!"

As his long runners strides brought him closer to his friend he noticed that the nearby civilian was unnaturally cool considering all the chaotic hysteria that had begun to spread from one by-standard to another as they fled the scene.

It was then that he realized what felt so wrong. There was a pair of box cutters loosely gripped in the man's hand. Both it and the sleeve of the peacoat were soaked through with a slick deep burgundy color. All the pieces finally came together as Mac realized that the tall, dark haired man was covered in what was most likely the blood of his his friend.

"Oh God, that isn't Temar on Harriet Matty. He's here. He's on the bridge. This whole thing was a coordinated ambush."

Riley's voice was filled with strain as she reported, "Satellite is up. We have visual."

Mac could hear her nearly sob at what she no doubt was now witnessing on the War Room's big tactical screen.

"Jack? Jack respond. Come on big guy. You're scaring us dude. Jack this is Riley, respond."

Mac was now close enough to see how ghostly pale the ex-delta had become.

"Matty, get a medic team together, Jack's been…No!"

Mac could faintly hear Matty in the background giving orders. Whether they were meant for him or some sort of exfil coordination, he didn't know. All he could focus on was the dark man, the real Temar, bending down to grab Jack's impossibly still form and dragging him towards the railing.

Mac shouted again in an attempt to distract the assassin from the task he was determined to carry out, "Stop! Negotiate! Getseer! Getseer!"

He wasn't going to make it. God, he wasn't running fast enough to make it. Nothing seemed to deter the Armenian's methodical movements.

If Mac could just make it 20 more strides.

Please don't let this happen. Not to Jack.

Now only 10 more strides until he could end this nightmare.

At only 5 strides away from his partner, Mac was helpless to prevent Temar from hoisting Jack onto the edge of the handrail and releasing him into thin air.

Mac's world collapsed even as his feet continued to carry him forward.

He was only vaguely aware of orders being screamed through his coms. Strangely, the only thing Mac could hear was a voice in his head whispering something. Something important. What were the words? He forced his mind to clear away everything in the world around him and simply began to focus on the five words repeating over and over in his head.

Neutralize the target, save Jack.

Neutralize the target, save Jack.

Neutralize the target, save…

The force of the collision was crushing as he carried his left shoulder up into the surprised Armenian's solar plexus. Mac could hear ribs cracking under his advance. A small grunt escaped the man's lips as the blonde continued to push up and forward with everything he had.

Abnormally strong hands clawed at Mac's leather jacket, while feet kicked out trying to gain some sort of purchase to no avail. Temar's eyes widened as he realized that the young American he was clinging onto for dear life was, much like himself, in no way anchored to solid ground. They were both air born.

Mac had made damn sure that physics was going to win this fight.

* * *

::Mac::

As Mac sensed gravity take hold, he felt oddly calm. Neither of the men made a sound as they both fell towards the water's surface. A sense of control washed over the young agent as his brain instantly snapped into analysis mode.

'Task #1 Find landmarks along the shore in case you survive the fall. Orientation is going to be key.'

'Task #2 Mark the location of the ripples where Jack hit. Assuming a current around 3 knots, I'll have to swim approximately 60 feet to the north east to reach him.'

'Task #3 With my body weight, falling from a height of 49 meters means the force of impact is going to be…'

The first wave of fear finally hit Mac. On pure instinct he reached out to the flailing Temar and tucked him in close during the last few seconds of the fall.

'I will drown you myself if we both survive this' was the last thought Mac had before he used the larger man to cushion the force of impact.

* * *

Decided to just go ahead and get this chapter out. More to come. Thanks guys!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the kind comments folks. It's always nice to get some inspirational feedback! Upward and onward...

* * *

::Matty and Riley::

"Angus, listen to me! You can't help Jack this way! DISENGAGE! ANGUS, PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS! MACGYVER THAT'S AN….."

Suddenly there was only silence as Mac went over the edge without a sound.

Riley couldn't breathe.

It was just so quiet.

After what felt like an eternity, Riley could hear the Director of Operations try to pull in a steadying breath, which ended up sounding more like an abbreviated sob.

That scared the young hacker more than anything. She looked over at her boss in shock.

Matty was as still as a statue and had her head bowed. Riley couldn't see her face.

"Matty?" whispered Riley.

The small statured women didn't respond.

"Matty? What do we do?"

Riley's voice was cracking as tears ran down her face. She could feel herself start to fall apart. There was no way Jack survived his encounter with Temar and Mac had little to no chance of surviving his attempt at a rescue.

She had just lost her father and brother in the span of less than a minute.

Her mind was suddenly a blank. She couldn't even remember the last thing she had said to Jack. Had she ever told Mac how much she idolized him? How safe the two guys made her feel? Why couldn't she focus? It felt like all the regrets, both realized and unrealized, were bearing down on her all at once. She was starting to become crushed under the weight of the sudden loss.

She had nothing left.

She was going to fall apart.

"Riley."

Startled, the young agent turned back to her boss.

Matty sighed fully this time and turned around.

Riley could see that the Director had recovered from whatever emotional slip-up she had made moments earlier. Her face was now all hard edged determination.

"Everything we do from her on out is to help Jack and Mac. Do you understand?"

Riley wiped her tears away in confusion. "What?"

"Riley, I know this is hard, but there is a mission in progress and we have two priorities. Apprehend the remaining targets and find Mac and Jack."

"But…"

"Riley, look at me. We need to understand what happened here. We have a two pronged priority now. Get me eyes on the location of the fence, I need to make sure the second suspect is, or has been apprehended. Once that task is complete, you immediately connect to every satellite, camera, video feed, dashcam, and snapchat along a 3 mile stretch of that river. Mac is the most logical and resourceful person that I know. He would not throw his life away if he didn't think there was a chance. Do you understand?"

Riley stared up at the War Room's main screen still in shock.

"Riley! Do you understand?"

Something snapped back into place in Riley's mind as she fully focused on what Matty was saying.

It suddenly occurred to the young agent that this force of nature before her could move mountains with her will alone.

Riley couldn't help but feel that Matilda Webber was going walk through Hell and back to protect this team- to make sure it made it to the end complete and whole.

"I need you right now Riley. So do Jack and Mac. If they don't give up, we don't give up. Do you understand?"

The older women was radiating determination and purpose.

Riley surprised herself with a steady "Yes Ma'am."

The hacker turned back to her computer and began to type like a concert pianist, reaching out into the world with her fingertips.

They were going to get these sons of bitches and bring their boys home.

Riley could hear Matty barking orders through com sets, making calls on secure private lines, and a myriad of other things that began to fade into the background.

The hacker gritted her teeth and whispered more to herself than anyone else in the room, "I understand completely."

* * *

::Mac and Jack::

Air.

He needed air.

Mac spun around in his murky surroundings completely disoriented. Involuntarily, he let out a painful, choked cough that immediately caused him to inhale water back into his burning lungs. Panic almost overwhelmed him at the first sensations of drowning, but then his mind latched onto the thin trail of bubbles that lead up and away from his current position.

'Up', he thought, 'You need to go up now!'

He swam with everything he had in the direction he knew would lead to the surface.

When he broke through, he expelled what felt like a gallon of water as he sputtered and gasped for oxygen. Something warm began to run into his eyes and he was vaguely aware that his left arm wasn't paddling properly.

What had happened? Where was he?

In his confusion, he looked towards shore, his eye landing on a beautiful cottonwood stretching high into the sky. It must have been over 60 feet tall. It was magnificient.

The cottonwood.

Something about it caused a scratching sensation in the back of his memory.

What was important about the cottonwood?

In the blink of an eye, everything came flooding back to him like a tidal wave.

"J-::cough:: Jack!?"

He looked around him frantically. He couldn't see Dalton, or Temar.

'Think Angus...' his mind screamed, '...what did you work out before you hit the water? Jack landed about 6 seconds before you….trajectory was sixty feet down stream….been traveling at least 50 feet….meaning the current should put Jack…THERE!'

Mac launched himself towards where he glimpsed a flash of black jacket bobbing just above the surface of the frigid water.

"Jack! I'm coming!"

After what felt like a lifetime of clawing his way through the water, Mac's fingers finally brushed against his partner's arm.

There was no response at all from the limp figure.

Mac knew he had to get to shore before he could do anything for his friend, so he locked his injured arm across the Texan's chest and neck and began to kick as hard as he could toward a sandy beach that had built up along a bend in the river.

As his legs finally hit land, his body almost gave out on him. It took all the mental discipline he could muster to fight back the darkness that had started to cloud the periphery of his vision and there was blood everywhere now... on his sleeves... his shirt... Where was it all coming from?

He drug Jack about 10 feet up from the waterline and proceeded to strip both their jackets off. He needed to keep Jack off the wet sand and insulated from the cold as much as possible. He then focused on the man's vitals.

The older agent was pale. Mac could find neither breathing nor a pulse.

Immediately, Mac started to perform CPR.

"Jack. Please don't leave me like this."

Mac fell into an automatic rhythm.

Despite how cold and numb his body felt, Mac could feel sweat dripping down his face, into his eyes, down his neck.

He paused to wipe it away.

As his hand came down, he looked at it uncomprehendingly. It was bright red. He didn't understand.

He wiped the red off of his hand and returned to the task of trying to revive his partner.

"Jack!... ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen…..JACK! Do not leave me like this!

Mac gave two deep breaths and cursed as he had to swipe his face again. His head must be bleeding. Damn if he could keep the blood out of his eyes.

He started compressions again.

"This is going to break me completely Jack. Do you understand? You cannot die!...five, six, seven..."

A convulsive heave from beneath Mac's hands was the best thing he had ever felt in his life. He tilted his partner onto his side as Jack gagged and coughed out literally lung fulls of muddy water.

Overwhelmed with emotion, the blonde allowed tears to begin falling uninhibited down his face.

"Jack? Just breathe man. Alright? I have you. You are with me now."

Jack tried to swing out with his hands in confusion, but immediately curled into himself as his injuries made themselves known.

Mac tried to calm his friend as best he could by putting both of his palms hard against the sides of the other agent's face in an effort to make direct eye contact.

"Jack. It's me, ok? It's Mac. Listen to me. You are hurt and we need to get you to a hospital. Do you understand?"

Dazed, Jack's eyes swam around in confusion for a second before landing on Mac's intense blue stare.

"Mac?"

"Yeah man. It's me. I have to go get help, ok?"

"Bud, you're bleeding…"

"No. No. It's ok, but I need to go get help now. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yeah, man."

Jack let out a groan and clutched his midsection as a wave of pain hit him. Mac tried to comfort his friend as best he could, but he felt rather useless. They needed medical assistance and they needed it now.

As Jack finally began to relaxed again, Mac could tell that the older agent was beginning to realized the extent of his injuries and that there was blood- too much blood.

Dalton grimaced.

"Yeah man, you better do that. Looks like I went and got myself stuck like a…like a pig."

He tried to put on one of his reassuring, Texas sized grins as he looked back up at Mac.

"None of us are…uh...lookin' too good at the moment, huh?"

Mac could no longer tell if the wetness on his own cheeks was from tears, blood, or a mixture of the two.

"Understatement of the year, big guy."

Mac tried to flash an equally big grin, but worry was starting to pull at him again.

"Jack, listen. I'm going to try to make my way up to street level and find us some help. You just hang in there ok?"

The ex-Delta nodded his head, "You do that."

Mac looked hard into his partner's eyes before he turned to leave, "Don't leave me."

Jack nodded his head in understanding and then made a move to stop the blonde.

Mac looked back confused.

"You are going to be ok kid. You hear me Mac? No matter what happens. You are going to be ok... Just remember that."

Mac felt a surge of panic as he reached for Jack's hand, but the ex-delta pushed him back.

"I'm not going to hold on forever tiger, so go get me some help, yeah?."

Mac swiped the blood out of his eyes yet again and felt torn. He absolutely had to get Jack out of here. He gave his partner's shoulder a squeeze and stood up.

"I'll be back in no time."

* * *

::Mac::

It was so frustratingly close.

He could hear traffic in the distance.

The further he tried to climb up the river bank, the more he took note of all the injuries he had sustained after he and Temar had made their final plunge off the Wabasha Bridge.

Hitting the water felt like being hit by a freight train.

He must have blacked out for a time immediately after as he couldn't remember much else. Being alive at all was a bit of a surprise honestly. Unfortunately, if he could beat the odds, that meant that Alex Temar could too.

A shiver ran through Mac. He just needed to keep moving.

As he tried to reach up with his left arm, he realized that he had finally lost all use of it. He had also started to noticed that his breathing was becoming more labored. What is that a symptom of? Mac's mind was murky and dark. He didn't seem to be thinking clearly. Breathing issues...He couldn't quite grab onto an answer.

It didn't matter. He was almost at the lip of the riverbank.

His right hand grasped the root of a tree, which he used to drag himself up the final two feet of the muddy embankment and onto what felt like manicured grass. The cool vegetation felt good against his face as he lay there catching his breath.

It was all he could do to keep from passing out. He couldn't tell if it was mental shock, blood loss, or something else?...Was there something else? This 'something' was trying to pull him under, but he continued to refused to give in to it.

He struggled to his feet and staggered across what looked like a park area.

If he could just make it to the street.

"Help! Somebody help!"

He continued to move towards the sound of cars.

"Please, someone help!"

Suddenly a hand was clutching his arm, and a face appeared before him. The face was saying something that he couldn't quite make out.

"Please, my friend is hurt down on the river bank. He needs ::wheeze:: an ambulance."

The face before him turned into two, no three faces, all saying different things. Now there were loud noises. Was someone screaming?

"My friend Jack."

Mac couldn't catch his breath.

"He's hurt on the river bank. He needs help. Please help him….he's…..."

The pressure in his chest finally became too great. He simply couldn't breathe anymore.

Mac felt the muddy dark rush in as his eyes rolled back into nothingness.

It was like sinking down into the river all over again.

* * *

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Hi- Another installment. Sorry to continually keep people hanging, but Jack (and thus we) will start to figure out what has/is happening once I get us to a hospital scene in Chapter 5.

* * *

::Matty- Personal Office::

Matty growled over the phone, "With all due respect Assistant Director, two of my men just went down apprehending some of the highest ranking members of this gang. A gang, might I add, that has been smuggling weapons through YOUR railyards right under YOUR nose for over six months! Now, you either corporate with Phoenix, or I will make sure a letter from the Vice President himself is ready and waiting for you on your desk by tomorrow morning asking for your resignation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Comprende!"

There was stunned silence on the other end of the line followed by the clearing of a throat.

"Miss Webber, I don't know who you…"

"It's Director Webber, Security Code 591001. Just run my credentials through the national system to confirm damn it."

Matty strategically decided to take this 'conversation' down a notch.

"Look, Assistant Director Caffrey, I do not have time to start from the top of the FBI food chain right now. I called you, because you can provide the most effective ground team in less time than it takes for any other agency to get their people pulled together. If you play this interdepartmental engagement right, we both can come out of this with a pretty solid alliance. You scratch my back I scratch yours. This is your territory David. Help me help you clean these guys out of your gutters."

More silence on the other end.

Matty knew from experience that this type of heavy, pensive pause meant that the balance of the argument was starting to tip in her favor.

So, she waited…..

Finally, AD Caffrey pulled in a deep breath, "Ok Director Webber. I don't know exactly who you are, or why you felt the need to operate in my city without consulting me first, but results from you security check show that you are somehow lightyears above my current clearance. I still don't have the foggiest idea of who or what your organization is, but if you personally come to the field office to get me and my team up to speed…"

The AD trailed off into another tense pause.

"…we can get the ball rolling immediately from this end. But, I WILL NOT put the men and women of this office…"

In a manner that belied her immense relief, Matty interrupted the older man with a curt, but heartfelt, "David, I have no intention of sacrificing your people. I won't lie to you by assuring you full transparency concerning my department, but I will provide you with everything we have on these Armenians. I will NOT leave you or your people blind during this operation."

Matty could hear Caffrey let out a big sigh of acceptance on the other end of the line, "Ok Director Webber, what do you need from me?"

* * *

::Matty and Riley-War Room::

Matty burst through the War Room doors.

"Riley, update."

"They got'em Matty. The other two Phoenix ground teams have both Hyak Pertrossian and the second target in custody. I'm waiting on a visual of the second suspect to run for a positive ID."

She then looked up to face her boss.

"And Mac and Jack...'

Matty's eyes instantly burned into Riley's.

"I found them."

It took everything Matty had to not lean against the nearby armchair for support as she absorbed the news.

"About 15 minutes ago, a police cruiser broadcast an ATL after being the first to arrive on scene here at Lower Landing Park."

The hacker's fingers flew over her keyboard as she pulled up a 3D Earth view of downtown St. Paul. She pointed to what looked to be a small river side picnic area just half a mile downstream from the bridge Jack and Mac had had their encounter with Temar.

"The initial description over the radio of the reported victim described Mac to a tee. It sounds like a second victim was located shortly after down by the river's edge here. Both required EMS transport, but no other details were transmitted on the police scanners."

"Can we track where they are being taken?"

Riley nodded, 'Sort of, I have my laptop setup to automatically ping us when any of the nearby hospitals receive admissions matching Mac and Jack's descriptions."

Hope mixed with apprehension crossed Riley's face.

"They're alive Matty. They did it. They survived it."

Matty closed her eyes and nodded, not quite ready to let herself slip into any state of relief quite yet. She needed more information before her worry for her two agents could be alleviated, but that would have to wait.

"What about Temar?"

Riley's face turned hard, "No sign of him yet, living or otherwise."

Matty nodded, "Ok good job Riley."

The Director then began barking orders as she strode briskly towards the War Room's exit.

"I need you to coordinate with Jill for getting the jet prepped. Gather everything you need to operate remotely. We are going to St. Paul to work out of the local FBI field office. I want wheels up in 30."

She then paused at the door's threshold and looked back at her young agent.

"And Riley…Let the Phoenix ground teams know that I want those two Armenian mob sons of bitches tossed into the darkest hole the FBI has on-site. No contact. I'll be doing the interrogations myself."

With that she disappeared down the inner corridors of the Foundation.

* * *

::Jack::

His eyes flickered open to the sound of a mechanical wailing. He hadn't meant to close them in the first place. He had tried his damnedest to stay conscious while Mac went to go find help, but he just couldn't do it. His head hurt, his torso hurt, his whole being hurt and he had eventually passed out in exhaustion.

Where was he now?

Someone to his right (not Mac) was speaking to him.

He blinked a few times trying unsuccessfully to decipher what was being said. The best he could do at the moment was let out a muffled, "What?..ugh..::cough::...Where…..?"

Damn. He had an oxygen mask on.

Jack reached up in an attempt to pull it away.

Immediately, a light feminine hand gently stopped his progress.

His eyes followed the hand up to the sleeve of what looked to be an EMT uniform. As he continued to follow the arm up towards its owner, he could see a distinctly female face. It was in fact an EMT, and a pretty brunette one at that.

Ah, he was in an ambulance.

With a calming voice, the gal requested that he please not remove the mask. She then looked sternly towards another individual to Jack's left. The other person (again not Mac) was saying something gruffly to the EMT. Jack tried to bring the other man's image into focus. He was definitely male, maybe in his late forties. He had a badge and was dressed in the typical navy uniform of a street duty cop.

Where was Mac?

Again, the officer hovering over him said something. Jack could just barely make out what it was.

"He might be our only witness. I need to talk to him now! We don't know what happened here, who the other patient is, or whether or not there might be other people involved. If he doesn't make it we have nothing!"

The EMT scowled at the officer, but after a few moments abdicated to the older man's position.

She leaned over Dalton.

"Mister, you've been in an accident at the bridge. Do you know your name?"

Jack moved to lower his mask again, this time with no interference.

He tried to breathed deeply and with a scratchy voice replied, "Dalton, Jack Dalton."

The officer leaned in closer, clearly eager to start some sort of interrogation.

"The other man. The blonde, in his late 20's. Did he do this to you?"

Dalton frowned confused, "No, he's with me."

Again another gruff question, "What is his name?"

Dalton didn't understand the line of questioning, "MacGyver. He is my partner."

Why wouldn't Mac have already told them his name? In fact Jack was surprised that Mac wasn't actually in the ambulance with him. His boy was stubborn as a mule and would have kicked and brayed his way into that vehicle come hell or high water to prevent Jack and him from being separated.

"Where…..where is Mac?"

The officer shot a hesitant glance at the EMT causing Jack to feel the first twinge of anxiety.

The officer looked at the patient again, "Jack, you have sustained a severe cut to your abdomen not consistent with a simple fall from a bridge. Do you know how you got this injury?"

Simple fall from a bridge? What the hell. There was nothing simple about Mac and Jack getting out of that river alive.

"Where is my partner?"

The officer tried again, "Do you know how you got this injury?"

"A guy came at me out of nowhere with something sharp on a…on the bridge. I can't remember what happened after that."

Jack took in another deep breath, "Then Mac….Mac left me to find help. He…."

The officer interrupted, "Can you give me a description?"

It hurt Jack to breathe and he was starting to become agitated.

"No. Came out of nowhere. Didn't see a face. Where's my partner? Where…::breath in::...where is Mac?"

Again there were glances exchanged that conveyed some deeper meaning that Jack didn't understand. A tightness now gripped his chest that was starting to build into a vice-like grip. Jack knew this feeling as fear. Pure unmoderated fear.

"Tell me where my partner is."

Some alarm began to sound off to Jack's right causing the EMT to launch into a series of movements that Jack could only see out of his peripheral vision.

"Where's Mac?"

This was real fear. Mac had looked like death as the young man had bent over him talking by the river side. Trying to calm him- Jack the Delta, Jack the protector. He hadn't even checked to see how hurt his partner actually was. Aside from the blood running down the side of Mac's face, he had seemed on top of things, sharp and clear headed. Jack remembered telling the young genius that he'd be ok. That no matter what happened, Mac would be ok. Why wouldn't these people tell him that Mac was ok?

He could hear people arguing above him.

"Where is Mac?!"

Jack's mind started to spiral. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't. He didn't understand how this could be happening.

All his anger and fear finally broke through to the surface as the ex-Delta screamed, "WHERE…IS…MAC!"

There were now multiple alarms going off in the small compartment.

"He's too agitated! He's going into shock! Get out of the way and stay back. No more questions!" shouted the brunette.

A prick in his neck was the last thing he felt before something sluggish in his veins carried him down into darkness.

* * *

To be continued...

Next chapter will start tying together a more coherent timeline for Jack. Poor guy, gets shanked, drowned, left, and he barely knows what happened.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for such a delay. I ended up having to move on short notice. Finally settled back down enough to start another chapter. Tried to keep the same tone as previous chapters, but it's been awhile since I stepped away from the story line. Let me know if things don't mesh very well and I can tweek things a bit. As always critiques are welcome. Thanks.

* * *

 **::Matty- Basement of Field Office:**

Director of Operations Matilda Webber closed the soundproofed metal door behind her with a muffled thud followed by the snick of a magnetically controlled bolt slipping into place.

If she wasn't so exhausted, she would have been impressed with the holding facilities here at the FBI's St. Paul field office. They managed to take an outwardly cozy looking building, and transform its inner basement into a labyrinth of cold, ridged interrogation cells totally devoid of any sense of time or place.

It had been 28 hours since she and Riley had left the runway back in L.A. Twenty-two of those had been spent sitting in a cold metal chair slowly chipping away at the resolve of one and then the other of the two Akhperutyun clan members involved in the ambush nearly two days ago.

She glanced behind her at the door to the holding cell she had finally emerged from. Despite being victorious, she didn't feel any pride, or accomplishment.

She was just tired.

Contrary to popular belief, interrogations wore down the lead examiner just as much as they did the subject. It wasn't just because of the enormous amount of energy required to upkeep a constant volley of 'cat and mouse' verbal traps. Instead, the source of exhaustion that ultimately lead to the breaking down of most participants was from the effects of sleep deprivation. It was as pure and simple as that.

Matilda hadn't slept in over 40 hours, but this was what she was trained to do. This was her specialty- mentally outlasting every cocky, adrenaline, and sometimes drug fueled sociopath that was set down at the examination table across from her. Sometimes the table was metal, sometimes, concrete, sometimes there wasn't a table at all, but the examinees where always the same and she always succeeded in getting the information that she needed. The trick was to get it within the time frame allotted.

She had almost taken this particular investigation down to the wire. It had required some fancy footwork by the joint Phoenix/FBI analytical team, but finally Jill had come to Matty with the key piece of information that the Director needed to tear apart the gun smuggling operation.

The two apprehended suspects were brothers.

Half-brothers to be exact, but enough blood between them to cast both men as rivals for 'Daddy's Weapons Empire'. Matty couldn't have asked for a better piece of intel. This was just the gasoline that she had been looking for to toss on the fire of what was assuredly a long standing rivalry between the two.

Once Matilda had absorbed the new data, she had quickly adjusted her interrogation technique. She began to insinuate to each brother that his counterpart in the adjoining cell had agreed to cooperate with the FBI in order to cut a deal. It had only taken 3 more sessions with elder Hyak before, in a bout of blind rage and sibling jealousy, he began unravelling at the seams at the thought that his younger brother might be trying to maneuver his way out of prison and back into the business as the main inheritor.

As with most impulsive psychopaths, Hyak gave up everything in a fit of familial revenge.

Matilda took another moment to clear her head of the ordeal before turning back to the main exit for the basement and making her way back to the Headquarter's central command and control room.

Upon her arrival, all eyes turned to her in a moment of tense anticipation.

Despite her exhaustion, she put on her best 'rally the troops' demeanor.

"We got 'em people. Tell AD Caffrey we have his bust location. He is going to love this."

"Jill, get a pen and write this down…"

* * *

 **::Matilda and Jack- St. Josephs Medical::**

Jack's arms felt heavy. It was a familiar feeling, one that he always associated with coming back into the world of the living after a long trip to what he called 'The Big (Almost) Sleep.'

How long had he been under? Was he in a hospital, or some subterranean holding cell? During times like these, there was always a 50/50 chance he'd open his eyes up to one or the other.

He mentally prodded himself to find out which one it was this time.

He struggled to lift his heavy eyelids for a few seconds and failed resulting in a soft groan of frustration.

That elicited a voice from some far reaches of the…tunnel? No, not a tunnel, a room?

The voice repeated itself, "Jack? Can you hear me? It's ok. You can open your eyes. It's Matty…Jack…open your eyes."

Jack was thrilled that the voice was Matilda's, which meant that more than likely he was in a hospital.

Good. He didn't feel like punching through hoards of bad guys to make a daring escape right now. Nor did he think he could handle any of Mac's explosive devices rigged up to blast through…wait...

Mac!

The ex-Delta drew in a sharp breath and forced both his eyes wide open as adrenaline took over. He instantly regretted both actions as a spasm gripped his abdomen and the bright hospital lights cleaved his brain in two.

"Jack! No…no…take it easy tiger. Focus on my hand and calm down."

Jack felt the squeeze of not one, but two small hands against his right palm and forearm.

He tried to slow his breathing and again focused all his energy on getting at least one eye open to look at his boss. He had to know what happened to his partner. He couldn't bear not knowing if Mac was alive/dead, safe/missing, mending/broken…his mind was overwhelmed with so many dichotomies. Dichotomies that, depending upon which side of the fence reality landed on, would dictate whether Jack's life trajectory would take a turn for the better or worse.

He would never forgive himself if Mac was gone.

"Mm…Mac?"

Jack's heart skipped a beat as he sensed more than saw Matty hesitate. His vision was still blurry and he blinked rapidly to try to gain a better image of his surroundings.

"Please…Matty….Mac?"

The Director gave a small nod and steeled herself for what she knew she was going to have to get through next.

Determined to be strong for Jack, she simply said, "Ok", turned to the chair next to her, and used it to maneuver herself onto the edge of Jack's bedside.

She looked at him hard again, assessing how much the injured agent could actually handle at the moment.

Jack knew exactly what she was doing and with a stronger voice repeated, "Please Matilda, just tell me what happened."

"You were admitted to St. Joseph's emergency room two nights ago with a stab wound to the abdomen, a dislocated left hip, two fractured ribs, and a concussion. The latter three injuries where likely due to your fall from the Wabashi bridge, while the former is assumed to be the handy work of Alex Temar, though we can't be sure without a description. You have been under since your emergency surgery after a police officer brought you in."

Matilda hesitated as she remembered how close they had come to losing Dalton.

She then looked directly at her agent. "How much do you remember of your encounter on the bridge?"

Jack was frowning, "Temar?...But, Temar was ahead of me…..he…"

Jack trailed off as he began to realize the full scope of what had really happened.

"It was an ambush wasn't it. We weren't chasing Temar, we were chasing a decoy. The Armenians lured us onto the bridge right into the hands of that faceless butcher."

"Would you be able to reconstruct a description of the man that attacked you for our files? It would be the only eyewitness description ever recorded of his identity."

Jack closed his eyes in concentration, 'It was an older man that collided with me. I remember thinking that he drew himself in too close under the circumstances…and.…something sharp hit my side. I looked up at his face and he was smiling. I couldn't understand why he was smiling. He…"

Jack squeezed his eyes tighter for a moment, but then shook his head in defeat, "Maybe a partial description. His thin smile is the last thing I remember until..."

He paused again in thought, "…until Mac found me along the river."

"How did I end up in the river?"

Matilda's single minded focus faltered a little. She didn't want to have to relive the events on the bridge any more than Dalton, but she knew it was important for both Phoenix and the injured agent to construct as accurate of a timeline as possible. Not only for the records, but also to ground Jack in reality. In her experience there was nothing worse than not knowing.

She cleared her throat and answered, "Temar heaved your body over the side before Mac could get to you."

The realization hit Jack like a sledge hammer. That was a very high bridge over very cold water.

"Jesus, I should be dead Matty."

He shifted his gaze toward the ceiling, but was contemplating something a thousand miles beyond- a thousand regrets, a thousand things left undone and unsaid. This latest mission had nearly stripped him from everyone he cared about.

He whispered more to himself than anything else, "I shouldn't be alive right now should I?"

With a voice that masked the emotion she felt inside, the Director of Operations answered the rhetorical question, "I would have to agree with you except your pathologically optimistic partner went against direct orders and decided that he could simultaneously take out Temar and improvise an Olympic worthy high-dive to save your hide at the same time."

That instantly snapped Jack back to the present.

"What!"

A shrill beeping sounded next to Jack causing his boss to jump in nearly as much alarm and anxiety as he himself suddenly felt.

Dalton quickly realized he needed to calm down before every nurse on the floor injected him with whatever 'sleepy-time cocktail' they had used the last time he had shown any agitation.

After a few seconds, he was able to slow his heart enough to silence the monitors much to the relief of his bedside companion.

In quiet anger fueled by a growing sense of guilt, the older agent continued, "Mac did what?"

Matilda was finding it hard to keep her tone professional. All she could see in her mind's eye was first one and then another of her agents falling to what was surely their deaths.

She took a steadying breath, "When Mac couldn't reach you at the railing in time, he launched both Temar and himself over the edge after you. Somehow he was able to locate you in the water and drag you to shore."

Jack had a momentary flash of waking up on the silty beach with Mac's bloody face hovering over him. Jack closed his eyes and couldn't stop a shiver that ran through his limbs, which threatened to set off a whole new series of spasms along his side.

"How bad is he hurt Matty?"

At the moment Jack couldn't fathom the possibility that his best friend was actually gone.

His heart simultaneously leaped with joy and then plummeted as Matty replied, "It's pretty bad Jack."

Mac was alive at least, but it didn't sound promising. Jack's emotions were in turmoil. He didn't know what to feel.

"Aside from what appears to be a stab wound to his left shoulder, again attributed to Temar, Mac's main injuries are internal. He sustained a skull fracture presumably during impact with said assassin as they hit the water's surface. Two of his ribs also punctured his right lung causing traumatic pneumothorax. They were able to quickly remedy the lung collapse in the ambulance, but they ended up having to transfer Mac to Northwestern's Neurosurgery Center in Minneapolis for his head trauma. They have stabilized his other injuries, but they are having to induce a coma until they can find a way to relieve the build-up of intracranial pressure."

The Director risked a glace at her agent's face after her rather dry and clinical report.

It was then that her heart finally broke.

Dalton looked so lost.

She reached down for his right palm again to offer support as he weakly scrubbed away a stray tear off his chin with the knuckles of his left.

"I'm so sorry Jack."

"When can I see him?"

"I've already arranged a room for you on Northwestern's ICU ward, but they won't permit us to move you to Mac's hospital until we know your kidney and liver functions are normal and that you are clear of any signs of pneumonia."

Jack made a motion to protest, but Matty quickly interrupted, "Jack, listen to me. Temar nearly gutted you. I know how worried we are about Mac, but before you woke up 10 minutes ago, the rest of the team were just as worried about you."

She let that sink in before continuing, "Please trust me when I say that I am trying to get you to Mac as soon as humanly possible. You just need to trust me."

The slight pleading tone in his boss's voice was so uncharacteristic that Jack was sapped of all his fight. He didn't even try to hide a second and third tear that escaped his now closed eyes.

"Ok. I trust you, but I need to be there for him Matty. He needs me as much as I need him. Don't let me fail in protecting him again. Please."

"I know Jack. I know."

Matilda Webber sighed as she moved to prop her back against the headboard beside her best agent. Neither of the two time hardened operatives said another word as they both settled down to wait for something, anything the happen.

Time, it would seem, was going to pass in agonizing slowness.

* * *

Will start on next chapter soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys- Experimenting a little bit with this chapter. I started writing this late one night in a rather dark room. As a result, I found myself overcome with the urge to write something a bit on the creepy side. May or may not have actually pulled it off. Oh well...that is experimentation for you eh?!**

 **Thanks for reading.**

* * *

 **::Jack- Northwestern Hospital- Mac::**

The room was dark except for the soft glow of at least three separate laptops that surrounded the curled up form of an utterly exhausted (and now finally sleeping) Matty.

Jack let out a big breath that he had been holding for no reason at all.

The agent was always amazed that his boss could create an ad hoc Phoenix Office in the most unlikely of places. Even in the small confines of a hospital room corner, she had managed to continue personally directing not only A. the remaining St. Paul operatives, but also B. what seemed to be at least a half-dozen other clandestine assignments being conducted simultaneously across the globe. How she was able to keep communications secure in a major metropolitan hospital such as this, Jack had no idea.

Sometimes he swore she wasn't a mere mortal such as himself.

The ex-Delta rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes and turned his attention to a bed that was situated opposite his own. The ICU unit was dark enough that he could only vaguely make out the shapes of some of the larger instruments surrounding the intensive care station. To Jack's ongoing distress, there was still no sound or movement from the patient lying quietly in the middle of it all. Despite having already being weened completely off of the prescribed pentobarbital, Angus MacGyver continued to prove unresponsive to outside stimuli.

The doctors didn't know why Mac's coma was being persistent.

This scared the older agent beyond words as it meant that his partner was officially in trouble in a way that Jack had no clue how to fix.

For Jack, it had been five days since he had gotten his transfer from St. Joseph's over to Northwestern where Mac had initially been admitted. A full two of those days were spent tirelessly arguing with hospital staff over double occupation policies for their ICU wing.

Jack had found the whole ordeal beyond frustrating.

After his escalation from polite inquiry, to concerned questioning, to threats, to all out physical attempts to forcibly move his own bed into Mac's ICU suite (which was in itself a minor disaster), Matty had finally intervened on the older agent's behalf. It only took five minutes of 'private hallway discussion' between the Director and Northwestern's legal management team before the medical staff did a complete about-face and hastily acquiesced to Jack's demands to be roomed with Mac. There were full apologies all around. This, Jack surmised, was proof that the Director of Operations had done more than just ask nicely for Jack's transfer. As far as Jack was concerned, Matilda Webber was one of the supreme beings of the universe that could make anything happen.

God bless his scary, ball-busting boss. He could not thank her enough.

In no time at all Jack found himself comfortably set-up across from where his partner lay, pleased to some degree to be able to monitor the young man's progress first hand.

Despite the initial relief of finally getting to see Mac in person though, Jack continued to find sleep elusive. He had traded the fear of the unknown during his time at St. Joseph's with a new fear of routine at Northwestern. The days at the new hospital were monotonous with no observable change in Mac's status.

This had begun to take it's toll on Jack.

What if Mac never got better? What if the coma was permanent?

With these questions perpetually bearing down on the former Delta, the man quickly developed an obsessive need to watch Mac nearly every second of every day, willing his partner to twitch, flutter an eye, or even just attempt to breathe on his own.

Jack couldn't bring himself to let down his guard for one second.

Instead, he spent most nights lying awake listening for the soft clicks and wisps of the ventilator that indicated that his partner was still breathing. Jack found the rhythmically mechanical sound both a blessing and a curse. Although it was a constant reassurance that Mac still had one foot planted firmly here in the land of the living, it was also a painful reminder that the Mac was still just out of Dalton's protective reach.

Jack's daylight hours on the other hand, were spent reading aloud page after page pulled from engineering articles, electrical magazines, and any other nerd science the Delta could get his hands on. In some of his more sentimental moments, the Texan even made a go at orating get well cards from acquaintances at work. Anything that Jack thought might comfort the boy genius as he navigated through whatever murky abyss he was currently lost in.

In the quietest of times, Jack cried, begging Mac to give him a sign he was going to be ok.

Jack rubbed his eyes again and leaned his head back against his pillow. As per the usual routine, night had again descended and Jack just lay there listening to the click, whoosh, click, wisp cadence of the life support.

The man was both physically and emotionally drained.

Unexpectedly, a gentle breeze brushed across his cheek. He welcomed the cool air as something new. Something that would prevent his mind from spinning into an endless loop of worry that tended to happen about this time of night.

It was then that Jack realized that something was off.

There shouldn't be a breeze.

The agent frowned and peered through the darkness beyond Mac's bed. He could just make out that two of the room's windows had been opened outward as far as they could swing. This caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand straight up. A bead of sweat began to run down his neck despite the sudden chill.

The protection detail that Matty had assigned to the entire 15th floor of the ICU would never have allowed those windows to be unsecure like that. He turned, slightly alarmed, towards Matty's still sleeping form.

That was when he became aware of a presence hovering next to him.

The Delta nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a whisper within inches of his ear.

"I'm afraid of heights Jack."

The older agent spun around as best as his broken body would allow to face the intruder that had managed to slip into what Jack quickly recognized as a close combat kill zone position.

Shocked, Jack suddenly found himself looking directly into the clear blue eyes of his best friend.

"Mac!? Jesus Christ! "

He felt like he was about to hyperventilate, but managed to stutter out a few more words through the hammering in his chest.

"What…you're….Oh my god, you're awake!"

The fear Jack had felt only moments ago transformed into excitement mixed with more than a little relief.

"Thank God you're awake Bud! How did you…..I mean…..I missed you so much man. I've been so worried. You have no idea, but damn you about gave me a heart attack. Come here."

He began to reach out to pull his brother in for one of his famous crushing embraces when something about Mac's appearance stopped the older man. In the scant light that was available in the darkened room, Jack could plainly see that the blonde was unusually pale. What was even more alarming was that he hadn't moved at all during Jack's roller coaster ride of emotional responses. Instead, his friend just stood there motionless, bowed like a penitent statue next to the bedside.

The former Delta could feel his brow knit together in confusion. Despite the other agent's cryptic greeting clearly being addressed to Jack, Mac's gaze seemed to be fixed at some distant point across the otherwise empty room. It was as if Mac was looking though the other man.

"Mac?" Jack tried to take a steadying breath despite the tightness building in his chest. "Mac…What's wrong?"

The young genius tilted his head as if to pose a question, but then slowly stood back up to his full height. He whispered something else.

Jack could just barely make out the words.

"Don't worry, I'll save you."

Though he tried to keep his voice outwardly calm and even, Jack was internally petrified.

"What? Mac, I don't understand. We're safe now. We made it. You're scaring me a little…..Look at me Bud. …Tell me what's wrong."

The sound of something dripping caught Jack's attention. He couldn't quite tell how long that particular environmental cue had escaped his awareness. As he focused closer on the sound, it reminded him of a broken pipe. Maybe from one of the floors above? It was as if someone had allowed the water to bore its way through the ceiling tiles and into the protected sanctuary of Mac's hospital room.

The dripping sound felt intrusive and out of place.

Jack shivered as he tried to make sense of it all.

The Delta looked back at his friend and noticed that the blonde's hair was matted down against his forehead. Upon closer inspection, he became aware that the young man's hospital gown was also completely soaked through leaving it plastered against the kid's lean frame.

A steady trickle of water had and was continuing to fall from the trim of the gown onto the tiles beneath Mac's bare feet. A queasy feeling began to overwhelm Jack's ability to think straight. "Mac…..what's going on?"

Jack was having trouble breathing.

The Delta suddenly flinched at the sound of a gun cocking. His mind went blank as his eyes darted wildly around the room trying to identify the location of the new threat. His hands reflexively clutched the rails of the bed as if he meant to bend them in two.

Fully aware that he was totally incapable of engaging in any sort of physical altercation, Jack glanced back at Mac in panic. His blood then froze as his mind grappled with the tableau laid out before him.

A Glock semi-automatic pistol had materialized out of nowhere and was being pressed hard against the kid's temple.

Jack's heart began to beat out of his chest as he abruptly became aware of a dark shadow shifting ever so slightly out from behind the young man's impossibly stiff figure.

'Oh my god. Please…..not this."

The shadow stepped further out from behind his hostage to reveal a living nightmare.

The antagonist had clearly suffered severe damage to the thin bones forming the left side of his face. It gave the man the appearance of having had his skull caved in. In addition to the obvious crush injuries, the man's jaw hung loosely at a grotesque angle. In horror, Jack recognized that it was barely attached.

Despite the horrific disfigurement, Jack was able to instantly identify the mutilated face as belonging to one Alex Temar.

It was the face of a monster.

All of Jack's carefully honed survival instincts completely shut down. He could think of nothing except getting Mac out of the clutches of this madman.

"Please don't hurt the kid. Take me instead. I did this, do you understand? Do you remember? Just don't hurt the kid…I am begging you."

Up until this point, Mac had maintained an utterly lifeless expression. But now, something about the pleading in Jack's voice caused the young agent to relax. He then made direct eye contact with the Delta operator for the first time.

Jack paled as, in absolute incongruity, Mac's mouth curled up into one of his carefree wry grins. In a crystal clear voice, Mac spoke one last time.

"I'll always save you Jack."

Jack's mind began to unravel as he registered what a slight shift in Mac's stance foreshadowed. With more speed than Jack had thought possible, the blonde shoved all his weight back into Temar's bulk and began to drive both their bodies toward the open windows.

Jack screamed as he helplessly watched his friend and the monster disappear into the night 15 stories above a concrete parking lot below.

Mac's smile had never faltered.

Jack continued to scream.

* * *

 **::ICU Unit::**

"Dalton! Dalton stop! You have to calm down! Dalton!"

Jack felt like he was drowning. He couldn't breathe.

"Dalton, you are hyperventilating. Wake-up!"

There was someone trying to hold his shoulders down, while another was grasping his head in a vice-like grip. His eyes felt open, but he wasn't able to see anything except darkness. Every muscle in his body was tight and sweat was pouring down the sides of his face.

As if someone had flipped a switch, his vision suddenly cleared causing him to blink a few times. He instantly recognized the faces of both Matty and Riley.

Both women looked as terrified as Jack felt.

Matty spoke quietly, but forcefully, "Jack! You need to calm down, or they will remove you from the ICU wing. They'll take you from Mac."

Straightaway the older agent understood what the Phoenix Director was saying.

He forced his arms and legs to relax.

"Are you with me Jack?"

He could start to feel the adrenaline loosen its grip on his system.

"Jack you have to give me verbal confirmation."

He finally got his breathing back under control.

"Yeah boss, I'm here."

Jack felt the weight of the two women's bracing hands lift and it was then that he noticed Riley was openly crying.

He instantly felt like the world's biggest asshole.

With hand still shaking, he reached out to her.

"No. Honey. It's ok. I'm ok. I'm so sorry to have scared you. It's ok."

He pulled the young hacker into an embrace and let her freely sob into his shoulder as he stroked her hair trying to calm her as much as himself.

"Shhhhh...shhh…shh. It's ok Darlin'."

Matty had stepped off to the side. Her right hand unconsciously moved to smooth down her hair and rub her temple. Jack recognized this as Matty's own silent tell of distress that she obviously was too preoccupied to catch.

Jack couldn't help but feel a tidal wave of guilt crash down on his shoulders for causing so much pain to two women that he loved. He couldn't do this anymore.

With determination and more than a little anger in his eyes, he caught the Director's attention.

"Matty, I've had it. I want off these meds. None of this is worth it. I can't keep havin' these nightmares every time I close my eyes."

"Jack, we can always try another adjustment to the pain medication cocktail. There are…"

"No! No more adjustments. The doc doesn't give a damn about how those things are fucking me up inside. I can't do this anymore. One thing. Just tell him one damn prescription at a time. To hell with pain. Anything is better than this."

Matty nodded her head in understanding. "Ok. You win. Let me see what I can do." With that, she turned and exited the room still shaken by the effects of Jack's latest nightmare.

Jack silently thanked the heaven's for his boss and then turned to focus all his attention back to the shaking young lady he currently had curled up in his arms.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that Ri. I'm ok…really."

Over the span of a few more minutes, Riley's sobs had quieted down to periodic hiccups, but Jack could still feel a wetness to her cheeks as he stroked the side of her face against his shoulder.

He just held her as best he could knowing that she must have been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders over the last week or so.

"Ri, you need to talk to me Honey. You shouldn't keep things locked up inside. It isn't doing anyone any good, much less you. Talk to me Ri."

The young hacker hesitated for a few moments before finally speaking up, "I was so scared when you went over the railing. I thought you were dead…..and then….Mac…::hiccup::…he just….he just followed you down. I thought I had lost both of you and it happened so fast. Everything just happened so fast."

Jack could feel her start to cry again.

"Baby, I am so so sorry this happened. You know that I would do anything to get back home to you, I would move mountains. And Mac, well…both you and I are going to have a little chat with that guy about his beloved Darwin and self-preservation theories and such once he comes around. Ok?"

That elicited a sound that could only be described as a cross between a laugh and a sob from the junior agent.

Jack chuckled a bit himself and craned his neck down to look at the top of Riley's still buried head.

"For someone smarter than Alex Trebec, our boy can be as dumb as a rock huh?"

Riley made another sound that was now about 80% laugh and 20% sob.

'Improvement' thought Jack, so he continued.

"That's why I'm here Ri. I'm here to protect you young-buck millennials that are too smart for your own good. Ol' Jack is tough, grizzled, and street wise, yeah?"

He pulled in a deep breath and slowly let it out. As exhausted as he felt, he needed to be strong right now.

"I'm y'all's Obi Wan and I take that job very seriously. I never want to give up that responsibility. Not ever. Comprende?"

He felt her nod her head against his shoulder.

"I just messed up a little this time, didn't I, and I am so sorry for that. But, you know what?"

Riley pushed herself up into a sitting position to get a better look at the older man's face.

"I'm just that much wiser for it and I can guarantee that I won't let this happen again- to any of us."

The talented computer tech sniffled a little, but was no longer actively crying.

"I love you Darlin' and I'm sorry Mac and I scared you so much."

After a few moments of trying to re-gain her composure, Riley replied, "I get it ol' man…"

She wiped the last of her tears away and put on as much of a brave face as she could muster.

"…but don't be surprised if I wire-up a tracking collar for the both of you. I might even install taser capabilities so I can take you two idiots down remotely the next time you decide to run headlong into some psychopathic bad guy."

Jack laughed at that, "Aw honey, you and Matty would have Mac and I twitchin' around like Mexican jumpin' beans before we ever set foot out of the surveillance van if you had one of those. Hell, Matty would press the button just to entertain colleagues at dinner parties."

Riley laughed fully for the first time in what felt like weeks, which did wonders for melting away some of the aches and pains that had plagued Jack since waking up at St. Joseph's.

He gave one of his best Jack Dalton smiles, "There we go. There's that lovely face. Come here."

The big Delta pulled Riley into one last hug before he held her back at arm's length with a look of all seriousness across his face.

"Riley, I need a favor."

The young lady visibly stiffened in surprise, but nodded attentively, "Of course Jack, anything."

"Could ya' do me a solid and find me the newest issue of Elite Tactical? I swear my brain is going to melt if I have to read one more chapter on some obscure 1.21 giggawatt flux capacitor component to Mac."

Riley rolled her eyes dramatically in relief and stood.

Jack continued on with his game face.

"Today I want Mac to learn about high precision FN Ballista sniper laser scope additions."

"Jack, even I would find flux capacitor schematics a more fascinating read than your gun laser comics. By the way, you do know flux capacitors aren't even a real thing right?"

Jack's shot his eyebrows up in feigned exasperation, "I'm your Obi Wan remember. Stick with me and I'll teach you the fun stuff, flux capacitors and all"

With that Riley groaned and turned to face the exit. As she made her way through the swinging door, Jack could hear her mumble something about 'love you too big guy' before the door gently closed behind her.

Jack smiled to himself, but as he looked over at his partner's bed, he couldn't stop a wave of sadness and worry from washing back over him. The physical pain he was having to endure was nothing compared to the pain in his heart as he tried to figure out what to do about his other kid- Angus Macgyver.

Somehow Mac had developed this twisted and highly self-destructive sense that self-sacrifice was an immediate and viable solution to every damn problem encountered in life. It made Jack angry. Angry at Mac's father, his teachers, at every adult that had passed through the young genius's life without taking the time to really understand what the kid was going through. What he was thinking, his fears, his insecurities, all the little lessons in life that wove together to build the foundations of a man's belief system.

Something was fundamentally broken in Mac's belief system and Jack was determined to set things right.

Mac was not expendable.

How on earth was he going to get that idiot genius to understand that?

* * *

 **Too choppy? Too bulky? Not sure why I'm feeling so insecure about this chapter! Hahaha. I have no idea where I'm going to take things from here, but I'll scheme up something to try to wrap things up.**

 **Cheers- WriterEl**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys- A short chapter, but I figured I needed to get a quick 'feel good' update out. Expect one or two additional chapters that finish up the overall story line. I'll work on those early next week. So, keep calm and Macgyver on.**

 **Thanks- WriterEl**

* * *

 **::Matty, Jack, (+Mac) at Northwestern::**

He was dying- absolutely and truly dying.

Death by boredom was real and he was experiencing it.

"Matilda, I am begging you. PLEASE just give me one or two files to look over."

"Dalton, when I say no I mean no."

A ping from the Phoenix Director's Blackberry alerted her to yet another message. This was the 5th email in less than 5 minutes. Jack could tell that she was starting to get annoyed at whatever international incident was playing out across her PDA's screen.

Before Jack could even initiate another plea, there was another ping that caused the petite woman's jaw to clench. Jack knew that the time for sweet talking his boss into letting him work on some cases was quickly running out. He needed to put on some Dalton charm fast.

"How 'bout you let me help with whatever job is blowin' up your phone? We both know that the best managers know how to delegate to their best employees."

Jack gave his most disarming grin and winked.

Matilda Webber was apparently totally immune to charm.

"Dalton, suck-it-up. YOU are still on crutches and Mac is still out for the count. There is no way in hell I am letting you work on anything that even remotely resembles an assignment. No remote surveillance, no data mining, no paperwork, no anything. And a big no concerning your ridiculous offer to help with this Scientifiques sur L'énergie nucléaire business."

Jack's grin fell and he started to get huffy, "Well, while you're busy ordering new eclairs or whatever from your...what...dessert dealer?... I am slowly losing my mind in this wasteland of doctors and fruit bowl desserts."

Matty looked up from her Blackberry with a face that more than adequately conveyed the fact that she could not possibly care any less about Jack's entertainment problems than she did now.

"Jack, that was French for the Scientists for Nuclear Energy. It's a watchdog group, not a pastry puff dealer. I mean... REALLY...In what universe does your brain even operate?"

Jack drew in a breath to answer, but was abruptly cut off by his boss.

"Don't even try to answer that. According to the latest tweet from the head of the IAEA, I have a few countries that are slowly losing their minds right now and they are light years ahead of you on my list of things to deal with. Why don't you just get Bozer to send you some more reading material?"

"Bozer!? Are you kidding me!? You do realize what happened the last time I did that don't you? The request for a book to help me practice my Pashto turned out to be a complete multi-volume set of obscure Afghani love sonnets. Not really the kind of words I need to perfect while potentially working undercover on the streets of Kabul."

That got a small, albeit brief, flash of amusmnet from the Director as she continued to scroll down through a series of ever increasing email chains.

Only half paying attention to her problematic agent at this point, Matty replied, "Take up finger painting."

Jack's jaw dropped. His boss was unbelievable. The injured operative sighed and stared up at the boring white ceiling in the boring white hospital room in the far corner of an utterly boring general ward. Despite Mac's condition improving to the point of no longer requiring the ICU, the medical staff remained adamant that both he and his still comatose partner stay isolated from any unnecessary stress induced by TV, radio, or any other form of electronic communications.

This was meant to facilitate their rest and recovery.

Jack felt like it was meant to facilitate his decent into madness.

"Matty, I swear to god the next time you come to visit, there will be a gaggle of med students taking notes around my bedside documenting the fascinating case of the guy that literally died from playing too much solitaire."

"Jack, you are a grown man. Deal with it."

The petite woman finally looked up from her handheld, "Look, I have to fly back to the foundation today to take care of some paperwork and to get a team working on this 'Eclair' issue as you so stunningly put it. I should be back by tomorrow evening."

After tucking the PDA into her inside jacket pocket, Matty reached up to gently squeeze Mac's motionless forearm.

"Mac, sorry to have to leave, but keep hanging in there. I'll see you tomorrow."

She then shot a scathing glare directly at Dalton, "YOU, don't harass the staff."

As the Director turned to leave, the former Delta threw up his hands in complete frustration.

"That's it? Well Ok then...I guess tomorrow we'll get to see how the medical staff deals with having to pry a deck of cards out of the cold dead hands of a patient that DIED OF BOREDOM! Make sure they put that on my headstone."

Jack's outburst didn't even phase Matty as she made her way towards the exit. Suddenly she stopped half-way out the door to say one last thing.

"Jack, don't forget to eat your vegetables."

With lips pursed tight and jaw firmly jutted out, Jack slowly shook his head giving Matty his death stare.

And with that, Matilda Webber was gone.

* * *

 **::Mac and Jack::**

Smuggly, Jack wondered what the outcome of the argument would have been like if he had tried to woo Matty with his newly acquired romantic Pashto. In every scenario that he mentally played out, he ended up dead in the first 30 seconds. Some battles you just couldn't win.

With a big sigh, the older agent swiveled on his crutches, made his way back to Mac's bedside, and sank deep into the over-sized hospital chair. After propping up his good leg on the edge of his friend's cot, the Texan began drumming out a cadence on his chest to release some of his pent up energy.

"Well Mac, 'The Hun' said no. I swear that lady has perfected the verbal 'kick in the nuts'. So, I guess we are back to playing the world's worst game of thumb wrestling."

Jack chuckled at his own witty commentary and stopped his drumming long enough to look over at his partner.

As per usual, Mac remained unresponsive.

"You might be off the ventilator now, but I'm gonna' need you to start being more supportive of all my funny jokes man. I feel like a stand-up comedian in mortuary."

Jack stretched his arms high allowing his newly healed mid-section to expand a little.

"Honestly, I never thought that I would say this, but I am really itchin' to get back to work... And YOU... you need to whip and wake-up before Ol' Jack really loses it. You are making me sweat more than a blind priest trying to find the exit in a cat house with all this cold shoulder treatment. My heart isn't gonna be able to take this much more Bud."

The older man turned back towards the open space of the room.

It was quiet.

Jack shifted in his chair suddenly getting very uncomfortable.

He had started to loath the quiet. That was when darker thoughts could work their way up to the surface- Thoughts about Mac not surviving this in the end, thoughts about how cold Jack's life would become if that happened, thoughts about how cold Jack himself might become.

Jack could feel a chill start to creep into his bones and he immediately fought to put the breaks on the train wreck of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. He absolutely refused to succumb to that darkness again. If not for his own sorry soul, then for Mac's. He liked to think that the kid could feel his presence and Jack wanted it to be a strong, steadying presence. Not one of a broken man.

In order to stay ahead of those demons, Jack had discovered that he needed to be in perpetual motion- constantly reading, talking, pacing, singing, fidgeting, joking around, fussing over Mac, etc. He just needed constant noise at all times in order to not fall prey to the oppressive silence.

He would bring down the moon if he thought it would help Mac, so keeping control of his emotions was just a drop in the bucket.

This should be easy. What did he need now?

Motion.

Jack vigorously rubbed his hands together and looked back over at the blonde with renewed determination.

"Damn Bud….I ain't gonna lie, you're starting to look a little scruffy again. How about I sweet talk that pretty little day-shift nurse into rustlin' us up another shaving kit? We gotta keep you looking suave for your ever growing little 12th Floor Fan Club. You, my friend, are the only guy that I know that can get dates while in a coma."

Jack snorted, amused, but there it was again.

The emptiness that seemed to always lurk in his periphery.

All he wanted was to hear Mac's voice.

::There was a soft tap::

Jack closed his eyes and tried to imagine what he would do if things were back to normal. He smiled to himself.

The absolute first thing he would do was crush Mac in the biggest bear hug he could possibly manage. They were always tussling around and Jack missed the physical contact.

Second thing on the list would be to grab a couple of beers and just sit with his friend by the fire pit in L.A. for hours...maybe even days. Jack loved their little porch powows. Half the time they wouldn't even talk. They'd just sit there enjoying the other's company.

::Tip, tap, tap, tap::

-J-

That was one of his favorite things about Mac. His ability to communicate through silence. Not like this cold silence of the hospital, but a warm silence. Dalton was admittedly the more talkative of the two, but sometimes the younger man's quiet presence said more by volumes. Mac had always been there for Jack even in the roughest of times- words or no words.

::Tip, tap::

-A-

Jack always liked to think that he took care of Mac, but if he was being totally honest with himself, the reverse was equally true. Damn, he really missed his friend.

::Tap, tip, tap, tip...Tap, tip, tap::

-CK-

Jack paused in his ruminations, a bit confused- Morse code?

Was he hearing Morse code?

The older agent sat up and glanced around the room trying to determine if this was it. The moment he truly started to lose his marbles.

::Tip, tip, tip, tip...Tip, tip::

-HI-

Hi? What the hell...

Confusion was quickly replace by excited realization as the older man dared a look in his partner's direction.

Two blue and slightly mischievous eyes were locked onto his, watching his every move.

Jack bolted up from his chair only to gently lay a hand over Mac's heart as if the young man might break in two at any moment

With a grin as big as Texas he drawled out, "Well 'Hi' back at ya' kid. It's been awhile."

Mac gave a weak smile.

The former Delta couldn't stop the tears from freely running down his face as he used his other hand to brush back Mac's unruly hair.

Every fiber of Jack's being was suddenly alive again.

Mac had made it.

They both had made it.

The quiet be damned.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! To be continued...**


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